Marvel Comics 1000 Addendum
Disclaimer: "I'm loyal to nothing, General. Except the dream..."
Chapter 12: Local Captain
Binghamton, New York.
In an alley between a pair of buildings in Downtown Binghamton, a pair of men were doing a bit of business.
"Here!" One of the men snapped, shoving some money into the chest of his compatriot. "I need my high, man!"
"Alright alright, here." The other man chuckled. He handed out a small box containing some orange cylinders with white tips. "Enough to keep you in the clouds for two months."
"Yeah, I doubt this man is a licensed physician." A new voice piped up. The two men turned and saw another figure, the shadows hiding his features. But then, a glowing object appeared at the figure's front: A glowing shield resembling the legendary round shield of Captain America.
"The hell?!" The receiver of the drugs yelped.
"You ain't Captain America." The drug seller growled, whipping out a gun and pointing it at the figure.
"Oh, but I am. Kind of." The figure stepped forward, revealing he was a teenage boy, wearing a bright blue leather jacket with red and white striped sleeves, red-and-white striped lapels, and gold epaulets. His face was concealed by a red gullet and goggles. On his head was a blue Army helmet with a white "A" painted on the front. His hands were covered by blue gloves. His outfit was completed by a pair of blue jeans, red kneepads, and red work boots.
Captain America. Birth Name: Wallace "Wally" Watson. Birthplace: Binghamton, NY, USA. Affiliations: The Captains Network. Physiology: Inhuman. Powers and Abilities: Can generate constructs from hard light.
"Cute outfit, punk." The drug seller sneered. "But I ain't got time for cosplayers. Nor do I have any time for witnesses." He fired the gun, but the bullet bounced off the shield of light.
"I'm a superhero, smart guy." Wally taunted. "And you are busted." He tossed the light shield, and it knocked the gun out of the dealer's hand. The dealer yelped and clutched his wrist.
"Aw, hell. I'm out of here!" The other man yelled, running for it.
"Nope." Wally, a grin underneath the red scarf that hid his mouth, created a construct of a baseball and tossed it, knocking the man out with it. He then turned to the dealer.
"I ain't going to go down because of a wannabe Cap!" The dealer yelled, running for it.
"Yeah, too bad for you." Wally made another construct of a light shield and tossed it, knocking the dealer out. Wally chuckled.
"Man, you guys really need to learn. This city is protected. And now I gotta get home. Dinner time!"
The next day
As typical for Binghamton weather in the summer, it was hot and humid. However, Wally Watson didn't have to worry too much about the weather outside today as he was somewhere that gave him a respite from the mugginess: An air-conditioned building. In particular, his uncle Simon's store.
Simon Kirby's store was mainly a comic shop. But it also sold a variety of other merchandise: t-shirts, video games, board games, toys, movies, even records, books, cassettes, and CDs. The man himself was helping check out a couple of customers.
"There you go." The gray-haired man smiled at the two teenagers. "Enjoy them."
"Thanks, Mr. Kirby!" One of the teenagers smiled back. The two left the store. Simon looked over and saw Wally stocking some graphic novels on a shelf. "Good work there, kiddo."
"Thanks, Uncle Simon." Wally said. The bells on the doors clanged as the door opened as a new customer arrived. She was a tall thin teenaged girl with long black curly hair. She wore a pink tank top and jean shorts, with white sneakers and socks. Around her neck was a slim golden necklace with a pendant of a Star of David.
"Hello." She greeted with a small shy smile, her voice spiced by a Russian accent. Wally's jaw dropped.
"Uhm...uh...Huh..." The blond boy stammered, his face showing a blush. Simon chuckled.
"Hello, Miss...Inyushin, right?"
"Da." Anastasia Inyushin nodded, a small smile still on her face. "I had heard about this store and I wanted to see it for myself."
"I'm sure my nephew is happy to see you here." Simon chuckled, noting the look on Wally's face. The young Inhuman seemed to be spellbound by the Russian girl.
"Huh?" Wally shook himself out of his stupor. "Oh! Uh..." He blinked for a bit. "H-Hi, Stasia..."
She giggled. "Hello, Wally. I had heard about this little store, and I thought I'd check it out."
"Uh-uh-yeah! W-we have a lot of sreat guff here, I mean I mean, great stuff here!" Wally stammered out. "We got comic books, and..."
"You have vinyl records?" She asked. "I'm looking for Dazzler's latest album, and she said it was available on vinyl..."
"Oh-oh yes! Yes!" Wally grinned. "Yes, right this way!" He led Anastasia towards the vinyl records racks. Simon smiled as he watched his nephew talk to the girl.
That night
Wally walked towards his house when he saw a familiar man emerge from it. He was a tall man with swept-back gray hair.
"Hi, Mr. O'Malley." Wally greeted. The Irishman smiled.
"Hello, lad." The elder man greeted.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank ye." Alvin O'Malley said as he approached the blond teenager. "How've you been doing, lad?" He smirked in amusement. "Keepin' the streets clean?"
"Yes, sir." He looked around. "Not so loud."
"Don't worry, kiddo. Your secret is safe with me." O'Malley assured. "In fact, I want to warn you." He handed Wally a folded piece of paper. "The image will explain it."
Wally looked at the old piece of paper. "This is about the future, isn't it?" Wally was the first person he revealed his own Inhuman nature to. It wasn't hard for O'Malley to learn. After all, the old Irishman was a mutant. His mutant power was precognition, which he expressed with his skills in art. It was also the reason why the Krakoans didn't try to bring him to their island. Which was fine with the old man. He feared there was something...darker about them.
"Aye, lad." The old man nodded. "Be careful, kiddo." He walked away. Wally blinked at the paper, then put it in his pocket.
"Thank you, Mr. O'Malley." Wally waved, when went into his house. That night, he sat on his bed. Wally looked at the drawing the Irishman gave him. It depicted him, holding up one of his energy shield constructs high, trying to deflect lightning bolts thrown by a Black woman with white hair. Behind him, a dark-haired girl was cowering in fear. A chill went down the young Inhuman's spine.
That's me. Wally realized. And I'm fighting Storm. Storm of the X-Men. She was a hero once. He looked at the girl. That looks like...Oh no! His eyes widened. Anastasia! This had to mean one thing...Anastasia was a mutant. And since she was...
The Krakoans are going to come after her! Wally realized what the Irishman was telling him. And they'll clearly not care if she wants to go "home" or not. The teenager's fist clenched. He had no illusions. He knew how powerful Storm was. He had followed superheroes ever since he first saw a documentary about the Invaders when he was six. He knew that Storm considered herself a goddess, and she certainly had the power to back it up. Wally Watson wasn't much compared to Ororo Munroe...and he knew it. But still, if Storm intended something against the girl he liked...he had to do something to stop it. So be it. The Captain America of Binghamton, New York thought. If I have to face a self-proclaimed goddess to save Stasia, then I will. I'd better contact the Captains Network for some advice...
2021 – United States of Captain America is published.
The original New Universe version of Anastasia Inyushin first appeared in Psi-Force #1 (November, 1986).
Alvin O'Malley is meant to be the "mainstream" counterpart of an obscure mutant character called The Calligrapher. The Calligrapher's Earth-619 counterpart first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #3 (1993).
I was fond of the United States of Captain America miniseries, and I really liked the idea of the Captains Network, exploring what the mantle means to various people. Wally Watson was inspired by my desire to see an autistic superhero in the Marvel Universe.